EDF has extended the shutdown of a reactor at the Chooz nuclear power plant (Ardennes) by three months, indicating on Thursday that it had detected a fault similar to that of another shutdown plant, which will therefore deprive France of this source of electricity for the winter.
The shutdown of Chooz reactor number 2 has been extended until April 20, according to data published on the site of the RTE network operator.
It was originally scheduled to return to the power grid on January 23.
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EDF announced in mid-December the precautionary shutdown of the two Chooz reactors to check for possible faults on its emergency cooling circuit, after the detection of faults at Civaux (Vienne), another power plant of the same model, whose shutdown was then extended.
Restart scheduled for January 23
"
The checks and expert appraisals carried out on the portions of the safety injection circuit of Chooz reactor no. 2 have made it possible to confirm that these are the same type of faults as those identified at Civaux
", indicated a EDF spokesperson for AFP.
The shutdown in the middle of winter of four reactors, the most powerful and the most recent in the French fleet, deprives France of nearly 10% of its nuclear capacity when it needs electricity the most.
At the end of 2021, RTE raised its “
level of vigilance
” for the month of January due to supply tensions.
Read also One of the reactors of the Chooz nuclear power plant restarts after six months of shutdown
For Chooz reactor number 2, “
the repair solution is being studied
” with the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), specifies EDF.
"
The analyzes of the controls and expertises are still in progress on the reactor n ° 1 of Chooz
", adds the group.
Its restart is currently theoretically scheduled for January 23.
The two Civaux reactors are due to restart at the end of March and April.